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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1564

Pandora's Box

1929133 minGermany
DramaCrime

Synopsis

Lulu moves through a world of theater, money and desire, attracting people who want to possess her or profit from her. A relationship with a powerful newspaper owner exposes the jealousy behind their apparent sophistication. As her circumstances unravel, Louise Brooks makes Lulu both a vivid presence and a target for society's judgments.

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Video edition
Internet Archive
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: German.
This copy runs
133:21
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: German. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Internet Archive · Georg Wilhelm Pabst · Internet Archive source edition

Cast

DirectorsGeorg Wilhelm Pabst

Historical context

Pabst's drama examines the sexual and social tensions of Weimar society without offering its central woman a comfortable place within respectable life. Public scandal, dependence and male authority shape the dangers around her.

Inspirations

The screenplay draws on Frank Wedekind's plays Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box. Lulu belongs to this theatrical tradition rather than to a documented biography, and the film reshapes the stage material through Brooks's screen performance.

Behind the scenes

The American actress Louise Brooks worked with a German production and a largely European cast. Her understated gestures contrast with the more demonstrative acting often associated with silent melodrama.

Reception and legacy

The film met resistance and censorship during its early circulation. Later rediscovery transformed Brooks and her distinctive bobbed hairstyle into lasting symbols of silent cinema.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and creditsCriterion — film and creditsImage: Unknown photographer / Academy Museum / Wikimedia Commons — Public domain

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 18, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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